Healthy food and habits
Alimentación y hábitos saludables
- Talk about your diet and (un)healthy habits.
- Plan your weekly menu.
- The relative "que"
Learn essential Spanish vocabulary and grammar focused on healthy food and habits. Practice practical dialogues about shopping, meal planning, and discussing nutritious diets. Master the relative pronoun "que" and the imperfect tense to talk about routines and past habits related to health and nutrition.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (22) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Los cereales
Cereals
2
Deber
To owe
3
El zumo de naranja
Orange juice
4
El menú semanal
The weekly menu
5
Típico
Typical
Ejercicio 2: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- Have you ever been on a diet or are you right now? (Have you ever been on a diet or are you right now? )
- Do you usually look at the ingredient list when buying food in the supermarket? (Do you usually look at the ingredient list when buying food in the supermarket?)
- Would you describe your food habits as healthy or rather unhealthy? (Would you describe your food habits as healthy or rather unhealthy?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Nunca he hecho dieta antes. Aunque soy vegetariano, así que no como carne. I have never been on a diet before. Though I am a vegeterian so I don't eat meat. |
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He intentado algunas dietas en el pasado, pero no me gustaron. Ahora estoy intentando ser más activo. I have tried some diets in the past but I didn't like it. I am trying to be more active now. |
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Siempre miro los ingredientes. Compruebo el azúcar y la sal en la comida. I always look at the ingredients. II check the sugar and the salt in the food. |
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Normalmente como muy sano, pero a veces tomo un poco de chocolate. I mostly eat very healthy but sometimes I have some chocolate. |
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Tengo un buen equilibrio entre comer comida poco saludable y comida saludable. I have a good balance of eating unhealthy and healthy food. |
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Estoy comiendo bastante mal. Pronto haré dieta. I am eating quite unhealthy. I will go on a diet soon. |
| ... |
Exercise 3: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 4: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Cuando era joven, siempre _________ frutas y verduras para mantenerme sano.
(When I was young, I always _________ fruits and vegetables to stay healthy.)2. Antes de planificar mi menú semanal, _________ los ingredientes frescos que tenía.
(Before planning my weekly menu, I _________ the fresh ingredients I had.)3. Durante la merienda, _________ un zumo de naranja natural que me recomendaba mi nutricionista.
(During the snack, I _________ a natural orange juice that my nutritionist recommended.)4. Cada semana, _________ los menús con platos equilibrados para mantener una dieta sana.
(Every week, I _________ the menus with balanced dishes to maintain a healthy diet.)Exercise 5: Planning a Healthy Menu
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Comer - Eat
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo comía
- tú comías
- él/ella/usted comía
- nosotros/nosotras comíamos
- vosotros/vosotras comíais
- ellos/ellas/ustedes comían
Deber - Should
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo debía
- tú debías
- él/ella/usted debía
- nosotros/nosotras debíamos
- vosotros/vosotras debíais
- ellos/ellas/ustedes debían
Tomar - Drink
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo tomaba
- tú tomabas
- él/ella/usted tomaba
- nosotros/nosotras tomábamos
- vosotros/vosotras tomabais
- ellos/ellas/ustedes tomaban
Planificar - Plan
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo planificaba
- tú planificabas
- él/ella/usted planificaba
- nosotros/nosotras planificábamos
- vosotros/vosotras planificabais
- ellos/ellas/ustedes planificaban
Exercise 6: El relativo "que"
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The relative "que"
Show translation Show answersBeber (Yo), Comer (Ellos), Tomar (Nosotros), que ha preparado, Hacer (Tú), que haces, que bebí, Preparar (Ella), Preparar (Vosotros): , Seguir (Yo), que necesito, que comieron, que tomamos, Necesito (Yo), que preparasteis, que sigo
Grammar Share Copied!
It's not the most exciting thing, we admit, but it’s absolutely essential (and we promise it'll pay off)!
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Comer to eat Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) comía | I was eating |
| (tú) comías | You were eating |
| (él/ella) comía | he/she was eating |
| (nosotros/nosotras) comíamos | we were eating |
| (vosotros/vosotras) comíais | You ate |
| (ellos/ellas) comían | they ate |
Tomar to take Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) tomaba | I used to take |
| (tú) tomabas | you were taking |
| (él/ella) tomaba | he/she was taking |
| (nosotros/nosotras) tomábamos | we took |
| (vosotros/vosotras) tomabais | You took |
| (ellos/ellas) tomaban | they took |
Planificar to plan Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) planificaba | I was planning |
| (tú) planificabas | You used to plan |
| (él/ella) planificaba | he/she planned |
| (nosotros/nosotras) planificábamos | we planned |
| (vosotros/vosotras) planificabais | You were planning |
| (ellos/ellas) planificaban | they planned |
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Healthy Food and Habits: Learning Spanish with Practical Conversations
This lesson focuses on improving your Spanish by exploring useful vocabulary and grammar around healthy living topics. You will learn about common foods like aceite de oliva (olive oil) and how to discuss healthy habits, especially in everyday situations like shopping or planning meals.
Key Topics Covered
- Healthy Living Vocabulary: fruits, vegetables, proteins like pollo (chicken) and pescado (fish), and choices about processed foods versus fresh ingredients.
- Grammar Focus: The use of the relative pronoun que to link sentences, for example, "El menú que quiero" (The menu that I want).
- Conversational Practice: Simulated dialogues for the supermarket, cafeteria, and home, encouraging practice of planning menus and discussing food habits.
Example Highlights
Some useful expressions you will find include:
- "¿Sabes qué verduras están en oferta esta semana?" (Do you know what vegetables are on sale this week?)
- "Quiero preparar un menú que tenga muchas verduras y pocos productos procesados." (I want to prepare a menu that has lots of vegetables and few processed products.)
- "Yo evito las tartas que son muy dulces y poco saludables." (I avoid cakes that are very sweet and unhealthy.)
Verb Practice
This lesson also emphasizes the imperfect past tense (pretérito imperfecto) with verbs like comer (to eat), tomar (to take/drink), planificar (to plan), and deber (should/ought to), which are essential to talk about past habits and ongoing actions.
Spanish vs. English Notes
One notable difference is the frequent use of the relative pronoun que in Spanish to connect ideas, often where English might use "that" or even omit it. For example, "La dieta que seguimos" means "The diet that we followed." Also, Spanish verbs use the imperfect tense extensively to describe routine or repeated past actions, while English often just uses the simple past or "used to" constructions.
Useful phrases include:
- "Que" — used to link clauses, similar to "that" or "which".
- Imperfect tense endings: comía, tomaba, planificaba — help narrate habitual or ongoing past actions.
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